Will Bunch delivers stark warning over report Bill Barr dropped Trump Egypt prove

05 August 2024

In a Washington Post article published on August 2, reporters Aaron C. Davis and Carol D. Leonnig detailed a U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) probe of a withdrawal of almost $10 million from a bank in Cairo, Egypt and its connection to Donald Trump — an investigation that was dropped under the direction of then-U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr.

The Philadelphia Inquirer's Will Bunch examines the Post's reporting in his August 4 column. The article, Bunch argues, raises questions about a larger issue: the threat that bribery and alleged bribery pose to U.S. democracy.

"America's Founders were a little unclear about a lot of stuff — we're still arguing after 233 years about just what the heck they were saying about guns in the Second Amendment," Bunch explains. "But they seemed very adamant about one idea: Bribery is bad for democracy…. It seems pretty clear."

Bunch continues, "Yet over the course of the 21st Century, something has gone awry. A corrupt Supreme Court, aided by a flawed system of criminal justice that gives every possible break to white-collar crooks while cracking down on the underprivileged, hasn't quite legalized bribery, but made it a lot easier to get away with. James Madison and Alexander Hamilton must be spinning in their graves over some of the recent developments."

The columnist emphasizes that U.S. democracy is in trouble if the rule of law is selectively applied.

"The other wrinkle is the recent, abysmal Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity for so-called official acts that would have made Trump's pro-Egypt policies — the quo in this alleged quid pro quo — off limits," Bunch writes. "The next Congress must pass legislation that spells out a president is not above the law."

Bunch adds, "Anyone can talk about making America great again, but that's not really going to happen until we make bribery a crime again."

Will Bunch's full Philadelphia Inquirer is available at this link (subscription required).

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